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Welcome to my Maker's blog, where I feature my own unique creative projects. I'm six years out from breast cancer and counting my blessings.

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Saturday, October 6, 2012

DIY Slipcover...Worth The Hassle? Absolutely!

I scored this settee at a local yard sale after checking it out thoroughly. The frame is solid and it has good lines tho the very pretty brocade fabric is just shattered. I put it on the back deck and cleaned and sanitized it to a fare thee well.

Slipcover time!

I totally scored a pair of lined canvas drapes at the thrift store. After deconstructing them and laundering I started draping and dinking around with the fabric. I ended up with about 10 yards of canvas plus the same amount of the softer lining fabric. The best part? Total fabric cost $5.00!

I cut rectangles roughly the size of each area and started pin fitting each piece. There are countless tutorials online on the pin fitting technique and I read lots of them before diving into this project. I marked the actual seam lines with pencil then pinned each piece. Then I trimmed the seams leaving a generous seam allowance. This sounds harder than it is, trust me!

Smooth your fabric and pin pin pin along the seams. Clip your curves to make fitting easier and don't stint on the pins.

This is before I trimmed the seams on this side. Start with plenty of fabric, you can always trim it down. If you don't start with enough material your project is screwed! Don't ask me how I know.

Ahem.

Three hours in I knew this cover was going to look AWESOME. So before I even sewed it together, I did this....

Because that is what I do! I get excited as a project comes together and leap ahead to the logical end use...settee as photo prop!! I LOVE how all the textures and pale colors of the pillows from my Etsy shop look against the canvas cover.

LOVE THIS! I'm sewing the seams this morning and adding a pleated flounce to the bottom so my middle daughter can use it in a family photo shoot today.

I still have to add the flounce and sew it together so I'll have about 6 hours into this project. So worth it to me! This does not include the time it took to clean and sanitize the settee and deconstruct the drapes and launder the fabric. Even buying a new drop cloth and using it would still make this an affordable project.

And here she is ready for the photo shoot this afternoon. GORGEOUS!

I'm so enthused that I still have over 6 yards of canvas left. I scored a large throne chair for cheap and it's gorgeous and sturdy and stylish and it's PINK. But my living room is brown, red, turquoise and blue. So guess what gets the next canvas slipcover?

About Me

I've always been creative and even my current treatment for breast cancer has only slowed me down, not stopped me. At this time in my life I finally have my own craft studio where I can paint, sew, draw, crochet, design, quilt, you name it. I am creatively curious and I won't let my chemo stop me!